


Hunkuary 2021

by KseniyaChe



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Canon Related, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Help, Hunkuary2021, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:22:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28633215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KseniyaChe/pseuds/KseniyaChe
Summary: Short stories about the sun of the Voltron fandom — Hunk.1. Hunk and Lance went on an "easiest mission ever" as Coren told them. But everything went wrong.2. Coffee shop AU. With a light Lance's hand Hunk will have a blind date with a regular visitor to his coffee shop.3. Paladins prepared a surprise party for Hunk.
Relationships: Hunk/Shay (Voltron)
Kudos: 2





	1. I'm not brave enough

**Author's Note:**

> I don't think I can pick up with all themes, but at least I'll try.

“Lance?” Hunk's voice echoed through the cave. “Lance, where are you?”

Silence in response.

“Damn!” Yellow paladin swore in a whisper, slowly making his way into the depths of the narrow and dark cave. A small flashlight built into the bayard dimly illuminated his path. An endlessly long way.

“This is the easiest mission you can think of, young paladin,” Hunk mimicked Coran. “So what? I crawl on all fours, no one knows where I am. Lance is missing, the Lions… I have no idea where the Lions are. Gosh!..”

He and Lance went here to check the distress signal that went to Castle of Lions. The planet must be uninhabited according to their study. So there was a high probability that the signal was simply “stuck” in her energy flows, and they would not find anyone.

“You just fly off quickly and check everything,” Coran showed them off, twisting his mustache.

“But why do we again? I'm not done in the kitchen yet,” Hunk protested, thinking longingly of the pie he was about to cook. Anything, just not to fly to hell knows where.

“The Fifth and Shiro are still on their previous mission, and Keith is busy with other things.”

“What things?” Lance bristled instantly.

“It doesn't matter,” Coran waved his hand. “You have to go!” He almost forcibly kicked them off the bridge.

“I didn't even have time to eat,” Hunk sighed. “Let's fly quickly back and forth, okay?”

"I'm all for it," Lance agreed, and they each walked towards their Lions.

The planet was truly uninhabited. The problem is that the signal came from somewhere underground, so they had to leave the Lions outside the cave, and go inside themselves. The cave branched out into several passages, at first they kept together and walked to the signal, until suddenly suspicious rustles were heard somewhere to the left, and after them a dull growl.

“Lance? What the hell is this?” Hunk grabbed the shoulder of his friend who went ahead.

“I have no idea, but don’t worry, the signal is on the other side. And be quieter.”

They’re together, so it’s not so creepy. Lance was trying to talk brave, but Hunk could see in his bluish from the backlight face that he’s scared too. They continued on their way. The signal became clearer. It's good news. The bad news was that the growl grew louder with every step they took.

“Gods, who is this? Oh, I’m going to vomit…” 

“Hunk, pull yourself together,” Lance whispered, barely audible, but the Yellow paladin saw sweat start pouring down his temples.

"A-alright…” Hunk swallowed, moving closer to Lance.

“Don't snuggle up to me!” Lance snapped in a whisper.

“But I’m scared!” Hunk protested, raising his voice in thrill.

“Shut up!” Lance hissed, but his voice suddenly squeaked against his will.

“You shut up!” Hunk responded almost loudly.

“Hunk, if-” Lance didn't have time to finish. A deafening growl was heard over their heads, red eyes flashed in the darkness, and both of them, screaming like madmen, rushed to run as fast as they could. 

In panic they went their separate ways, and now Hunk no longer walked, but crawled on all fours along the narrow passage at random. The signal they originally went to was lost long ago. The paladin was afraid to go back. The only hope was that Lance was somewhere ahead — with his long legs he always ran fast. Communication did not work.

“Lance? Where are you?” From time to time, Hunk whimpered and stubbornly crawled forward, thinking that if there was a dead end ahead, he would just go back. But how to find Lance is a real question.

One thing made him happy — no more scary eyes and deafening growls. The arches of the cave were smooth, as if washed out by water, and somewhere far ahead, Hunk could see a faint white gap. This encouraged him. But no matter how much he crawled towards it, he could not get close. And this optical illusion made Hunk think that he was already hallucinating. One thing was comforting — he had enough oxygen in the spacesuit for a long time.

The passage became narrower and narrower, the flashlight went out, and Hunk had to lower himself on his stomach and crawl further towards the dim light ahead. He didn't know why he was moving on. Wouldn't it be wiser to go back? But a dim light, and either faith or intuition guided him.

“Never, never again will I trust Coran,” he muttered to himself.

Every few doboshes he tried to connect to Lance on the transmitter. Useless.

Hunk was already desperate. He was tired. The feeling of anxiety and fear wore him down in earnest. At some point, he just lay down flat and put his head in his hands in front of him. He was breathing heavily and desperately trying to get his brain to think about what to do next. Unfortunately, he was not the one of those who come up with successful plans for salvation. Suddenly there was a crackling sound in the helmet microphone, and to Hunk's unimaginable relief he heard Lance moan.

“Lance? Lance? Where are you?”

“I don't know…” 

“Are you okay? Injured?”

“My arm. It hurts,” Lance weakly answered.

“What is that noise?” Hunk listened carefully. It looks like a waterfall. Through his breathing, he really didn’t hear him. “Okay. Describe the place where you are. If the connection is working, we should be close to each other.”

“I'm in some huge cave, there is a waterfall, a high arch. And from the side I see a hole, like a passage. But it's too high.”

Hunk's hope rekindled with renewed vigor. What if they are almost in the same place?

“Lance?”

“Yes…” 

“Listen. Can you shoot this passage neatly? Just be careful. Maybe I'm there.”

“You'll be buried under the rocks…” 

“No, I’m far enough. Your rifle is better suited for this than my bayard. I’ll just blow everything up here and bury myself alive. Come on, do it. Just aim slightly lower, not higher. Got it?”

There was no answer, but Hunk could hear his friend's heavy breathing.

“Lance? Don't you dare to pass out!”

“I understood. One sec. It’s just my arm… So hurts…“ he moaned again.

“Lance. You have to. Do you hear me? You can do this. Come on, Lance. Shoot. Please.”

“Okay.”

Seemed it took ages for Lance to make a shot. Hunk could hardly breathe, peering into the beam of light ahead of him.

Lance's shot echoed simultaneously in Hunk's ears through the microphone in his helmet and the arch of his cave. And then there was a crackling sound, and the beam of light that he could not reach became wider.

“Yes!” He exclaimed happily. “Lance? Hold on, I'm coming.”

“Yeah,” Lance said barely audibly.

Hunk worked his arms and leg with a double force with.

“Come on, come on! You can… do it. You'll save Lance. And then… you'll come back. You will have a pie. Which I… I will definitely… cook. I deserved it. And I will never… oh… never ever believe Coran again.”

Finally he made his way and looked with inexpressible relief into the high-vaulted cave, where Lance lay unconscious by the lake.

“Yes, I did it. So now I should go down…” 

* * *

Lance opened his eyes with a deep sigh and immediately coughed. He slammed his fist on the glass and the cryopod flew open.

“Buddy!” Hunk caught him in his arms and helped him to sit right here, on the steps. “Are you okay? Waked up now?”

“What… What happened?”

“It’s all right. We have returned. Are you at home.”

“How?..” Lance’s head was spinning.

“Oh, I came down to you. You were out. I called Yellow Lion and he came,” Hunk said simply.

“The signal?”

“As I thought, false. You found its source, by the way.” Hunk fiddled with a tiny rectangular transmitter that looked like an earth smartphone. Lance frowned, he didn't remember.

“And the monster?”

“Remained there.”

“Okay.”

Lance sat on the steps beside the cryopod, elbows on his knees, fingers running through his hair.

“You're doing great, Lance,” Hunk patted him on the shoulder. “Really. You saved me.”

Lance looked up and stared blankly at his friend's face. Is he kidding? But Hunk was looking at him with such a sincere expression that Lance knew: no, Hunk wasn’t kidding, he truly believed it. Blue paladin smiled wryly.

“No, you saved us.”

“I was so afraid…” 

“It doesn't matter. You are a hero today. Our bravery Hunk.”

“Thanks,” Hunk broke into a wide smile. “Do you want a pie?” and he handed his friend a plate with piece of cake.


	2. Blind Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk is running his own coffee shop and he has no time for dating. So his best friend Lance makes all job for him appointing a date to one of the regular visitors of cafe.

A bell over the door announced the first visitor to a small pastry shop.

“Lance? Won't you serve? I'm a little busy here.” Hunk expressively showed his elbow-deep hands in flour.

His partner and friend, Lance McClain, rolled his eyes, reluctantly getting up from the chair where he sat drinking strong coffee and trying to wake up. Yesterday he danced until he almost dropped in a club with a red-haired girl, and today he barely scraped himself off the bed. He yawned widely, stretching.

“Okay. I'm coming.”

Hunk shook his head and went back to the tartlet dough.

Five minutes later Lance returned to the kitchen, flopped back down and closed his eyes, throwing his head back.

“Do you know what she is?” he continued exactly from the place where he stopped. “So small, energetic. My legs were buzzing, but she was totally fine!”

"Will you meet her again?"

"Of course! She's coming here for lunch."

Hunk looked at his friend disapprovingly.

"I asked you not to bring your girlfriends here! You have too many of them. God forbid, they grapple."

"I just offered her a cup of good coffee, and she agreed. I didn't say that I work here. Really!"

“Watch it,” Hunk shook his finger. Or I'll fire you!"

Lance snorted and reached over to the coffee machine for another shot of espresso.

“You ought to find a girlfriend too,” he said. "Do you know what a sweety crumpet just was here?"

"Lance, stop it. I have no time for girlfriends.” Hunk rolled up a few balls of dough and wrapped them in plastic film. "I disappear here from morning till night. I am responsible for five people and you. If in six months we do not reach a steady income, I will have to close everything here. And definitely fire you! And return to my father's restaurant." 

"Oh, just relax. Your numbers are fine. Keith considered all the risks. He is a nerd, of course, but an excellent analyst."

"Yes, yes, I know, but I'm so worried that something will go wrong."

“Relax,” Lance repeated. "In any case, the girl paid you a compliment. She said she loved your cooking. I suggested that she stop by in the evening, when there are fewer people, and thank you personally."

"Are you crazy? Did you arrange a blind date for me?" Hunk stared at his friend.

"What's wrong?" Lance wondered sincerely. He never had a problem reaching out to strangers and meeting any member of humanity. He found words for everyone. And his friend Hunk was from a completely different background. Modest and shy. His eyes only lit up when he talked about his coffee shop and pastries. "Crawl out of the kitchen. You will smile, you will thank, and that's it. And if you like her, you can offer to drink coffee at the house's expense."

Hunk sighed, trying to calm the unwelcome trembling in his hands. He didn't get along with girls. Not that he was seeking a relationship, or not seeking. But a couple of times he got unlucky and therefore avoided girls. And in general, Hunk was often lost and did not know what to talk about. If only he had a drop of Lance's self-confidence.

But instead, Hunk had more than a love for delicious food and desserts, which he successfully implemented in his own coffee shop, where he worked himself, his friend from high school Lance, two baristas, two pastry chefs and a cleaner. Hunk liked to cook his desserts himself, so he usually didn’t leave the kitchen in the first half of the day. After lunch he was busy with administrative matters, sometimes serving customers himself. He loved to watch people in the cafe, their reactions to delicious meringues and eclairs, coupled with aromatic Cuban coffee, which was provided to them at a big discount by a friend of the McClain family.

Hunk's parents were chefs, and his father worked in one of the best restaurants in New York. But Hunk really wanted independence, so he opened his own coffee shop. Lance imposed on him as a partner. And when Hunk said that he would fire McClain, then, of course, he was lying. Lance invested a whole quarter in their cafe. He also found them a financial analyst in the person of a certain Keith Kogane, who helped to do accounting.

As much as Hunk loved his best friend, they were different in everything: from taste preferences in food to the deep properties of the soul. Yet Hunk was grateful that Lance helped him start his own business.

* * *

“Lance, are you going to work today at all?” Hunk looked with annoyance at his friend, who had spent half a day scribbling messages on his phone.

“I'm working.”

“Flirting with a new girlfriend?”

“She's not my girlfriend yet. But she’s so cool!”

“What's her name though?”

“Katie.”

“Katie? Do you remember the daughter of professor Holt, who couldn't cram the basics of trigonometry into you? Isn't it she by chance?”

"Did Holt have a daughter?” Lance said in surprise. “I thought he had two sons.”

“Hah!” Hunk burst out laughing. “When do you say she will come?”

“In half an hour,” Lance said not very confidently.

“If you want, I'll see if it's her or not.”

“You don’t mean to say that I was dancing with some boy all night yesterday?” Lance stared at Hunk in horror, but then let out a sigh of relief. “No, no. Her hair was so long. And breasts. She had breasts.”

Hunk laughed even harder than ever. No one brought so much madness into his life as McClain.

Half an hour later, Hunk washed his hands and went out into the room. He stood near the entrance to the kitchen and carefully examined visitors. Lance appeared behind him, successfully hiding his thin figure behind the more massive body of his friend.

“Well?”

“Is it she? Second table by the window,” Hunk nodded.

“Yes.”

“Congratulations. It's a girl. And this is Katie Holt. The daughter of our professor. You’re in trouble, dude.”

“W-why is that?”

“Her brother will turn your neck for her. So if you haven't prepared your wedding tuxedo and wedding vow in advance… maybe you should stay aside?”

Lance swallowed nervously and looked closely at his friend, wondering if he was joking or serious. And Hunk was openly laughing. It was very funny. He and Katie were on a short leg during their studies, but Lance did not perceive her — and now it became clear why.

“Okay, Romeo, make up your mind. I'm kidding. If you liked her, then go ahead. Katie is really cool. And smart.”

“Okay,” Lance sighed, smoothed his hair, tugged at his shirt, and walked resolutely toward the table.

“Wait!” Hunk called out to him. “At least take something with you. Here,” he took two saucers with Tiramisu from the window, “she will like it.”

“Yeah, thanks!”

Hunk stayed where he was and watched with a smile as his friend walked up to Katie and sat down at her table. Since their studies, she really has changed.

“Mr. Garret,” one of the pastry chefs came out of the kitchen, “we have problems there."

“What else could have happened?” Hunk sighed and went back to work.

* * *

"It's time, it's time, it's time!" Lance tapped his finger on the watch face right under Hunk's nose.

"Wait a minute, I'm not finished yet."

"I'm not talking about work. Your fangirl is already in the cafe."

"What fangirl?" Hunk did not understand, and then recalled the morning conversation. "Oh! She really came?" he ask in disbelief.

"Yeah, I changed the barista to personally greet her and inform that the chef will be out soon. So it's your turn to go and be a star.” Lance used a napkin to remove flour from his friend's face. "Take off your apron. Or not, leave it! Let her see how you are passionate about work. No, take it off, better put on a clean one…" 

"Lance, leave me alone! I'm not going anywhere!"

"Oh no, you will, you’ll go out there. Come on. It's nothing to be scared of. You'll greet her, throw a couple of phrases, and that's it. Here, I have prepared a treat from the chef," Lance shoved a plate of dessert Pavlova into Hunk's trembling hands.

"But what do I say?"

"You will figure it."

"No, Lance, you can't… I…" 

But Lance didn't listen, he pushed Hunk out the door into the room. He remained standing, almost burying his nose in it.

“Damn you, Lance!" he swore.

A cautious cough was heard behind him. And Hunk turned slowly.

At the showcase stood a pretty-looking low girl, short hair, round-faced, plumpish, with big brown eyes. She fiddled with the strap of her purse.

Hunk, summoning all his courage to help and swallowing nervously, took a step forward. He held out his hand with the saucer in front of him, as if in defense. 

“D-good afternoon… I mean good evening. It's evening now, isn't it?" He began awkwardly.

“Hello,” she replied and smiled.

"I'm Chief Hunk. I mean, just Hunk. And the chef, too, of course, this is my coffee shop. I mean…” He paused, feeling himself blush desperately.

"Nice to meet you, Hunk. My name is Shay."

And they froze, looking at each other. Finally, Hunk caught himself, remembering all the advice Lance had given him.

"Maybe we can sit down? Want some cake? Coffee?" he pointed to the first free table that caught his eye. “At the house's expense, of course,” he added hastily.

"Oh, it is not necessary."

"No, no, I insist…" 

* * *

Forty minutes later, when Hunk never returned to the kitchen, Lance peered out through the transparent window in the door to the hall. Hunk and his new acquaintance were chatting nicely at a table. And judging by the satisfied expression on his friend's face, everything was going very well.

Lance chuckled to himself, flopped down into the chair and threw his hands behind his head.

"Oh yes, I'm brilliant!" he said smugly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/VLDfangirl)  
> Hunkuary2021 on [twitter](https://twitter.com/hunkuary2021)


	3. Happy Birthday!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paladins prepared a surprise party for Hunk.

“Hey, guys, how long have we been hanging out here?” Lance asked. He sprawled on the couch in the lounge, playing enthusiastically something on the phone.

“I do not know. Long enough,” Pidge shrugged, looking up for a second from the device she was picking at.

“Several months,” Shiro replied.

“Or more precisely, seven months and three weeks,” Keith said thoughtfully. “I mean, um… I wanted to say, seven fibs and three movements. I'll never get used to it”

The eyes of the paladins immediately turned to him.

“Wow!” Lance even postponed the game. “Do you really count?”

“And you are not?” Keith bristled. “Who whined the most about how he misses the Earth? Aren't you, Blue?”

"We all miss home," Shiro said conciliatory.

“What date is it today? Well, according to the Earth calendar,” Lance continued.

“Hold on, we'll calculate!” Pidge responded and immediately launched some program on her computer, which, it seems, she never turned off.

The guys surrounded her with curiosity.

“Done. According to the Earth calendar, today is January 12, 2017.”

“Pidge! Have you forgotten?” Lance exclaimed.

“What should I remember?” she frowned and peered into the face of her friend, as if looking for answers there.

“Well, how could you forget, a year ago we were in the Garrison…”

Before he could finish, Pidge had already jumped to her feet.

“Hunk! It's his birthday! And how could I forget! We promised to throw him a party because we forgot about his birthday a year ago… What kind of friends are we, Lance? Where can we find everything we need for the party?”

“Hunk's birthday? When?” Shiro raised his eyebrows.

“Tomorrow, January 13th.”

“And you forgot about his birthday again? Why am I not surprised?” Keith chuckled.

“Hey! I had a difficult year, okay?!” Pidge jabbed a finger at him.

“So, guys, let's not quarrel,” Shiro put in. “You promised Hunk to throw a party for him, right?”

“Yes,” Lance nodded.

“Then we have this day to prepare everything. I think Allura will not be offended if we quickly fly to the space mall. I'm sure we can find something suitable there,” Keith said.

"It might be not safe," Shiro objected, recalling their last raid.

“But Hunk deserves a birthday!” Pidge argued fervently.

“Yes! Little Pidge is absolutely right.” Lance put his hand around her shoulders and immediately got a kick by her elbow in his side. “Okay, okay, you're not little, you will soon be sixteen. I promise that I will never forget about your birthday.”

* * *

“Guys? Where are you? Hey, guys!” Hunk in confusion walked around the Castle of Lions, looking into every free room, but nowhere could he find his friends. “Where did you go?”

He walked around the room of each of them, looked into the training deck, was on the bridge, kitchen and the lounge. In the last one, for some reason, the light was not on, so Hunk decided that they were definitely not there and went to look further. Finally, he got tired of wandering around the Castle and decided to return to the lounge.

He absentmindedly asked the on-board computer to turn on the light and flopped onto the couch, closing his eyes.

“Suuurpriiise!” Came right above his ear, and Hunk jumped to his feet, screaming in horror.

“Happy Birthday!” a discordant chorus of voices sounded.

“God, guys, you scared the hell out of me! Was it impossible without it?” Hunk, realizing what was going on, noticeably relaxed and gratefully accepted the embrace of his friends.

“Your friends said it was called a surprise party. Is it true?” Coran asked.

“What an interesting custom!” Allura was delighted. “I am so glad that we are getting closer to each other and you are teaching us your earthy traditions.”

Hunk finally got out of his friends' hands and looked around the room. Balls, colored flags hung everywhere, the table was full of alien food.

“Are you sure it's edible?” Hunk asked suspiciously.

“Don't worry, Pidge and I personally tasted everything.” Lance patted his friend on the shoulder. “So help yourself! This is all for you.”

“Oh! Guys! It wasn't necessary at all!”

“We promised, remember?” Pidge hugged Hunk on the other side.

“Thank you!”

The party dragged on until late in the evening. Hunk fell asleep that night with a happy smile on his lips. Probably for the first time in all time, he did not miss home. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/VLDfangirl)  
> Hunkuary on [twitter](https://twitter.com/hunkuary2021)


End file.
